Racquet game equipment



Feb. 21, 1961 MlTSUO TANAKA RACQUET GAME EQUIPMENT Filed May 18, 1959 INVENTOR. Ml TSUO T4Nfi/(A ZjfZNEY BY Ki .tates ate'nt RACQUET GAME EQUIPMENT Mitsuo Tanaka, Nagoya, Japan, assignor to Thalson Company, San Francisco, Calif., a partnership Filed May 18, 1959, Ser. No. 813,840

4 Claims. (Cl. 27396) The invention, in general, relates to recreational devices, and more particularly relates to game equipment and enabling the recurrent reception and projection of an object, such as a ball or other sphere or the like.

As is well known, a multiplicity of game devices have heretofore been devised for physical action play by one, two or more players. The present invention is another in the long line of an ever expanding field of devices of this character and is embodied in a hand manipulated device of durable construction lending to increased longevity of use.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide racquet game equipment which is provided with rapidly alterable flexible means for effecting the catching and holding as well as the rapid ejection of a ball or the like.

Another important object of my present invention is to provide racquet game equipment of the indicated nature which is additionally characterized by its restricted area for catching a propelled or falling ball thereby presenting to players the opportunity of attaining an ever increasing proficiency in visual perception and coordination.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide recquet game equipment of the aforementioned character which permits either slow action or extremely rapid action in the playing of the game and which enables players of the game to develop increased agility and muscular skill.

Another object of the present invention is to provide racquet game equipment of the indicated nature which is relatively inxepensive to manufacture and to maintain.

Other objects of the invention, together with some of the advantageous features thereof, will appear from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that I am not to be limited to the precise embodiment illustrated nor to the precise arrangement of the various component parts thereof, as my invention, as defined in the appended claims, can be embodied in a plurality and variety of forms.

In itspreferred form, the racquet game equipment of my present invention preferably comprises. a pair of handles, a loop on each of said pair of handles, together with a sheet of flexible-material secured at each longitudinal extremity thereof to the-opposed-loops on said handles so asto present said 'sheet'in'cylindrical forrn, and restricted meansin said sheet for catching-a ballor sphereor-other object on said sheet as well as enabling the propulsion of said ball or sphere or other object from said sheet upon the manipulation of said handles.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention with the handles spread apart and the flexible sheet drawn taut as well as illustrating a ball in flight after propulsion from said equipment.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of a preferred embodiment of the invention showing a ball at rest within the sheet drawn between the two handles after the ball has been caught. 7

Fig. 3 is a view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

As particularly illustrated in Fig. 1 of the annexed drawings, I provide a pair of simulated racquets 11 and '12 each of which includes a handle 13 and a head 14 consisting of an open frame of generally elliptical shape, although any other configuration of the open frame of the racquet heads may be employed, as desired. The

handles 13 of the racquets conveniently are formed either of light-weight wood or a plastic material to a cylindrical shape and are each provided with a reduced inner end 15 having diametrically opposed channels formed therein for the reception of the projected extremities 16 and 17 of the frames of the racquet heads 14; such racquet heads preferably being fabricated of either a bendable plastic or of spring wire of sufficient length to provide the generally elliptical open frame with projecting extremites 16 and 17 lying substantially parallel with one another for fitting the channels formed in the reduced ends 15 of the handles 13. A suitable collar 18 is provided for slip-fitting over the reduced ends 15 of the handles 13 and serve to retain the heads or open frames of the racquets in operativelpositions on the handles. The exteriors of the handles 13 and the collars 18 can be painted or otherwise delineated in attractive and contrasting colors to afford a pleasing design motif on the handles. I

In accordance with the present invention, I provide a length of flexible cord-like material, such as open mesh netting 21 and attach the lateral extremities of the netting 21 to the frames of the heads 14 of the racquets. The netting 21 can be cut or made to a length just sufficient to surround the elliptical open frames of the racquets 14, and the width of the netting 21 can be made to such dimensions as will accommodate the players ofthe game. For children from six through their early teens, the width of the netting 21 should be approximately 24 inches, which is about the distance a youngster can readily spread his arms apart while holding the racquets. For older boys and girls and for adults, the width of the nettinglzl can be 30 inches to 36 inches. To prevent unravelling, the individual cords of the netting at the lateral extremities thereof are preferably fastened together by alength or lengths of cords. For convenient attachment .of the netting to the open frames of the racquet heads, I preferably provide separate cords 22 which conveniently are looped around the open frames of the racquetv heads .14 as well as looped around the fastened lateralextremitiesof the netting 21 and thereaftertie the ends of the separate cords 22 together after first looping them around the frame extensions 16 and 17.

In addition to providing the netting hereinabove described, I preferably form a relatively wide, gener.ally circular opening in the netting at approximately the transverse center thereof and in that portion of" the netting .21 which is presented at the top of the netting when the netting is stretched betweenthe two racquets, asshown in Fig. 1. It is evidentthat when the length of netting netting 21 assumes a generally cylindrical shape open at Thus, the netting has a periphery extending between the two opposed open frames of the racquet heads 14 which is at substantially right angles to the projecting handles 13 of the racquets. For convenience, the periphery of the thus formed cylindrical netting 21 shall be termed herein as an upper run and a lower run. The above described opening, designated herein by the reference numeral 23, is formed in the so-called upper run of the periphery of the netting 21. This opening 23 can be formed in any convenient manner, such as having a number of the transversely extending cords of the netting reduced in length, and providing a length of cording 24 which can be tied to the reduced cording so as to define a generally circular opening.

Inasmuch as this above described equipment is devised for playing a game with a sphere or ball 26, or other object of similar size to a tennis ball or the like, the opening 23 in the netting 21 is made to a size slightly larger than the size of a normal tennis ball; the thus formed opening 23 permitting the passing of the sphere or ball 26 therethrough and onto the lower run of the periphery of the cylindrical shaped netting 21 stretched between the two open frames of the racquet heads 14.

In using the above described racquet game equipment for playing a game with a tennis ball 26 or the like, a player grasps the handles 13 of the racquets 11 and holds such racquets in a position that the netting 21 is slack therebetween. A tennis ball or the like is then placed in the netting by dropping the same through the opening 23 in the upper run of the netting. Thereafter the player of the game sharply draws his arms apart so as to stretch the netting 21 to a taut position, as shown in Fig. l, which action ejects the ball or sphere 26 rapidly through the opening 23 into the air. If the ball 26 is projected in a straight line above the player he merely has to stand still and catch the sphere as it falls by force of gravity onto the lower run of the netting 21 after it has passed through the opening 23. On many occasions, the snap action of. the netting by drawing the arms of the player quickly apart will cause the sphere 26 to be projected in other than vertical distances above the players head and the player is required to shift his position rapidly to catch the falling ball 26 or dispose the netting in such a manner that the opening 23 is aligned with the falling ball in order that the same may pass therethrough to be caught on the lower run of the stretched netting. Of course, it is possible to catch the falling ball 26 through either one of the open frames of the racquet heads 14. This will re quire quick action on the part of a player as Well as quick wrist motions in order to prevent the ball from rolling the width of the netting 21 and passing out again through the opposite open frame of the racquet head. The game can be provided with rules so that penalties will be assessed against a player who permits a ball after being caught from dropping out through either one of the racquet heads. Moreover, the game can be played with a number of players arranged in opposed positions to one another so that the ball 26 can be snapped from the netting 21 through the opening 23 in the direction of an opposed player who may catch the projected ball 26 in equipment manipulated by him so that the projected ball will be caught through the opening 23 of his equipment and immediately or quickly snapped back to the same player or to another player or players in the group.

It is to be understood that the appended claims are to be accorded a range of equivalents commensurate in scope with the advance made over the prior art.

I claim:

1. In racquet game equipment, a pair of manually manipulatable handles arranged in opposed relationship, a cylindrical shaped flexible netting supported between said handles; said netting defining an upper run and a lower run in spaced relationship to one another and said upper run having an opening therein of sutficient size to pass a given object, manipulation of said handles by movement toward one another etfecting the slackening of said netting to retain an object disposed on the lower run thereof and manipulation of said handles away from one another effecting the drawing taut of said netting and the propulsion of said object through the opening in the upper run of said netting.

2. In racqnet game equipment, a flexible netting supported in a cylindrical shape to define an upper run and a lower run thereof in spaced relationship to one another; said upper run of said netting having an opening therein of suflicient size to pass a given object for reception on the lower run of said netting, and means connected to said netting for drawing the same taut and for thereby effecting the propulsion of the object from said lower run of said netting through the opening in the upper run of said netting.

3. Racquet game equipment for receiving an object as well as for rapidly propelling the object; said equipment.

comprising a pair of racquet handles arranged to be held in opposed relationship in the right and left hands of a player, an elliptical shaped open frame on each of said handles, and a flexible. sheet having an opening therein secured at its opposite ends to said frames of said handles to present a cylindrical shaped flexible body between said handles when drawn apart; said cylindrical body defining an upper run and a lower run in spaced relationship to one another with said opening in said sheet at the approximate center of said upper run of said cylindrical body, said handles being adapted to be grasped and rapidly spread apart to draw said flexible sheet taut and thereby to propel an object from an at rest position on said lower run of said cylindrical body through said opening in said upper run of said cylindrical body.

4. Racquet game equipment comprising a pair of racquet handles arranged to be held in opposed relationship in the right and left hands of a player, an elliptical shaped open frame on each of said handles, and a flexible sheet having an opening therein secured at its opposite ends to said frames of said handles to present a cylindrical shaped flexible body between said handles when drawn apart; said I cylindrical body defining an upper run and a lower run in spaced relationship to one another and in substantial parallel relationship to one another with the opening in said sheet at the approximate center of said upper run of said cylindrical body and with said cylindrical body open at its opposite ends into the open frames on said handles, said handles being adapted to be grasped and rapidly spread apart to draw said flexible sheet taut and thereby to propel an object from an at rest position on said lower run of said sheet through said opening in said upper run of said sheet; and said flexible sheet being adapted to receive a propelled object on the lower run of said cylindrical body either through said opening in the upper run of said cylindrical body or through the open ends of said cylindrical body through the open frames on said handles.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,170,948 Achershaug Feb. 8, 1916 1,189,921 Cory July 4, 1916 2,025,995 Lerch Dec. 31, 1935' 2,201,802 Steiner May 21, 1940 

